Watershed Location Page: Data & Maps
Below are all data sources used on the watershed-level location pages. Have questions about the data, maps, or statistics on Drought.gov? Email us at drought.portal@noaa.gov.
Looking for More Data?
The Drought.gov team reformats data from multiple partners into web- and GIS-ready formats, which we use throughout Drought.gov. These data, hosted on Google Cloud Storage, are free for all to download or reference directly from their web applications.
Current Conditions
U.S. Drought Monitor
Maximum Temperature: 30-Day Departure from Normal
Sources: UC Merced, Climate Engine
The 30-day departure from normal maximum temperature (°F) shows the difference of the last 30 days from the usual conditions for the same time period averaged from 1991–2020. This map uses the gridMET and PRISM temperature datasets, which are delayed from the current day by 3 to 4 days to allow for data collection and quality control. Temperature data from Climate Engine were available in raster format.
* Currently, data are only available for the contiguous U.S.
Precipitation: 30-Day Percent of Normal
Sources: UC Merced, Climate Engine
The 30-day percent of normal precipitation map shows the difference of the last 30 days from the usual conditions for the same time period averaged from 1991–2020. This map uses the gridMET and NLDAS precipitation datasets, which are delayed from the current day by 3 to 4 days to allow for data collection and quality control. Precipitation data from Climate Engine were available in raster format.
* Currently, data are only available for the contiguous U.S.
Drought Indicator Blends
Experimental Short-Term Drought Indicator Blend
Sources: UC Merced, Climate Engine
Drought blends data from Climate Engine were available in raster format.
These experimental blends integrate several key drought monitoring products and indices into a single short-term or long-term product, based on the methodology developed at the NOAA Climate Prediction Center (CPC). The blends are created using the Climate Engine tool, and apply the CPC weighting ratios to the high-resolution gridMET gridded research dataset. The data is updated daily, with a delay of 2 to 3 days to allow for data collection and quality control.
The short-term blend combines PDSI, Z-Index, 1-month SPI, and 3-month SPI to estimate the overall short-term drought.
This product is an example of current NIDIS-funded research. Learn more.
* Currently, data is only available for the contiguous U.S.
Experimental Long-Term Drought Indicator Blend
Sources: UC Merced, Climate Engine
Drought blends data from Climate Engine were available in raster format.
These experimental blends integrate several key drought monitoring products and indices into a single short-term or long-term product, based on the methodology developed at the NOAA Climate Prediction Center (CPC). The blends are created using the Climate Engine tool, and apply the CPC weighting ratios to the high-resolution gridMET gridded research dataset. The data is updated daily, with a delay of 2 to 3 days to allow for data collection and quality control.
The long-term blend combines PDSI, Z-Index, and 6-month, 1-year, 2-year, and 5-year SPI to estimate the overall long-term drought.
This product is an example of current NIDIS-funded research. Learn more.
* Currently, data is only available for the contiguous U.S.
Agriculture by Watershed Region
Crops and Livestock in Drought
Sources: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, U.S. Drought Monitor
County-level commodities data was collected from USDA agricultural censuses. County figures for field crops represent the total acres harvested within that county. County figures for livestock represent the total inventory within that county.
U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) data from the National Drought Mitigation Center were available in a GIS format.
Agricultural Statistics
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service
GIS was used to aggregate the number of acres of a crop or inventory of livestock present in a geographic region, according to 2017 data from the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. To calculate the acres of crops/inventory of livestock in drought, these values were multiplied by the percent area of the watershed region in moderate (D1) to exceptional (D4) drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
This calculation makes several assumptions, including that crops and livestock are evenly distributed throughout a county/watershed. Therefore, the crops and livestock in drought statistic is an estimation of crops and livestock in drought and not an exact value.
Water Supply by Watershed Region
Daily Streamflow Conditions
Source: U.S. Geological Survey
Streamflow data were available in a GIS format from the U.S. Geological Survey's WaterWatch.
U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) data from the National Drought Mitigation Center were available in a GIS format.
One-Month Precipitation Outlook
Source: Climate Prediction Center
Precipitation data from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) were available in a GIS format.
Water Supply Statistics: Streamflow % Above and Below Normal
Source: U.S. Geological Survey
Summary table information was ingested and parsed to provide statistics at the state level.
Water Supply Statistics: Precipitation % Above and Below Normal
Source: Climate Prediction Center
Temperature and precipitation data from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center were available in a GIS format for the United States. GIS was used to extract data by state to generate state-level statistics.